Chapter 457: Chapter 457: Doesn’t the Person in the Photo Look Familiar?
Estelle Lockwood stared at her screen in shock. "Wait... what is this?"
Tapping into the trending search, she saw several photos. The background was the food street from last night.
[I thought Mr. Sloan was famous for being a doting husband? Was it all a lie?]
[How much of what these capitalists say can you actually believe?]
[I remember he was with Estelle Lockwood at the Evernight International annual gala... Estelle was almost kidnapped back then, and wasn’t Mr. Sloan super worried?]
[So how is he caught in a cheating scandal now?]
[The photos don’t look fake either. Even though they didn’t capture the woman’s face, Mr. Sloan is smiling so happily, which means he’s a willing participant.]
[Sigh, it’s all just an act for the netizens, and you guys actually fell for it. For all we know, the couple is only together in name, doing their own thing in private, and the internet is the only one taking it seriously.]
Estelle was speechless.
She remained silent for a few seconds. Swiping through all the photos, she realized her own face wasn’t in a single one, whereas Nathaniel Sloan’s face was clearly visible in many.
It seemed the photographer had done it on purpose, only taking shots of her back and avoiding any angle that might reveal her face.
Moreover, Estelle noticed her figure had been photoshopped. At first glance, anyone would assume the woman wasn’t her.
She wondered if it was intentional. Estelle raised an eyebrow and saved the photos.
Just then, Liam Sloan’s cautious voice came through the phone. "Did you see the trending search and the photos?"
"Yeah," Estelle replied.
Liam gulped. "Well... about that, the photos might have been taken years ago. You know how shameless the media is nowadays—they can twist anything to fit their narrative!
"Who says they were out for a late-night stroll at the food street? Who says Nathaniel has a doting expression on his face? That’s clearly... clearly a murderous glare!"
Estelle let out a soft chuckle.
"If you say Nathaniel was sleeping at home last night, then he was definitely sleeping at home. Yep, absolutely!"
Hearing her laugh, Liam immediately regretted calling her. He felt a sense of impending doom. "...Are you doing okay right now?"
"I’m perfectly fine."
"You’re not mad, are you?"
Estelle pondered for a moment. "If you mean at Nathaniel, no, I’m not mad. If you mean at the unscrupulous media, then yes, a little."
Liam’s heart leaped into his throat, his voice cracking. "Y-y-you’re not mad?"
Nathaniel was out strolling through a food street at night with another woman, smiling fondly, and it even made the trending searches.
And Estelle wasn’t mad!
Liam immediately promised, "Estelle! If you’re angry, just say so. I won’t tell Nathaniel! The woman in those photos is old and ugly—she’s definitely not as pretty as you. You’re the only wife I’ll ever acknowledge for him!"
Estelle was momentarily speechless. After a brief silence, she said faintly, "That won’t be necessary."
"No, I mean—"
Estelle chuckled. "Don’t you think the person in the photos looks a bit familiar?"
"Do they?" Liam was puzzled. Taking a closer look, she did look a bit familiar, but something felt off.
Estelle said slowly and calmly, "Today is my birthday. At midnight, I had Nathaniel take me out for a walk around the night market."
"Right, so..." Liam froze, then blurted out in shock, "So the woman in the photos is you?! That’s impossible, Estelle. Your figure doesn’t look like that!"
Estelle smiled pleasantly. "Exactly. That’s why I’m also very curious—who took these photos of me like this, without a single one showing my face?"
If her face had been shown, no one would have paid much attention. At most, people would just comment that rich people eat street food too, and that would be the end of it.
But whoever took the photos deliberately blurred her face and photoshopped her figure, preventing anyone from immediately recognizing her and thus causing a misunderstanding.
As a result, it shot up the trending searches and spiraled out of control.
Liam’s tone turned serious. "Should I look into who’s behind this?"
Estelle smiled. "Their methods are rather crude."
Sure enough, Liam traced it back to Yvonne Lancaster.
He stared at the name in exasperation for a moment before commenting, "You’re right. Crude methods, sloppy execution, but undeniably effective."
Evernight International had already issued a clarification and released the unedited photos.
[So the woman next to Mr. Sloan was Mrs. Sloan all along? Then what was the point of that exposé?]
[Uh, deliberately blurring or cropping out Mrs. Sloan’s face—wasn’t that just to make people misunderstand? Someone really has a grudge against Mr. Sloan.]
[They even maliciously photoshopped Mrs. Sloan’s figure so no one would connect her to Estelle Lockwood.]
[So who did it? The Sloan family? Or the Lancaster family?]
[Probably one of those two... They both hate Mr. Sloan to death right now.]
SMASH!
At the Lancaster family home.
Chairman Lancaster violently smashed a cup, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. "Are you completely brainless?! Do you have any idea how many people are watching us? You just had to sling mud at Nathaniel right now! Are you eager for the whole world to know that the Lancaster family is targeting him?!"
Yvonne jumped in fright, panicking. "T-then what should we do? Dad, I just wanted to teach that little bastard a lesson. He went too far!"
Chairman Lancaster forced himself to calm down. "Just deny everything. Put on a show that the Lancaster family feels guilty toward Nathaniel, and you better behave yourself for a while!
"And another thing, Laura Jennings is done for. Don’t ever go see her again. She’s just an unpresentable mistress. She collaborated with the Lancaster family for a few years and actually thought she was a big shot."
Yvonne nodded meekly. "Yes, yes."
Theodore Lancaster interjected, "Grandfather, there’s been a slight complication over at Radiance."
Chairman Lancaster furrowed his brows sharply. "What is it?"
The Lancaster family owned a video platform and had been looking to partner with an entertainment company. Currently, the biggest entertainment company on the market was Radiance.
Theodore explained, "Radiance is changing bosses. I heard that the person pulling the strings behind Radiance announced at dawn today that they will be transferring all their shares to a new owner. This is a complete overhaul of leadership.
"Under these circumstances, the new chairman will definitely need some time to adapt and familiarize themselves with the operations. They likely won’t make any bold moves right away, so our partnership talks will have to be delayed."
After the clarification was posted, the topic dropped off the trending list.
Estelle didn’t pay any mind to this minor hiccup.
Right now, she was going to accept Nathaniel’s gift.
Nathaniel’s gaze was gentle. "I still have two meetings this morning, so I’ll head over a bit later. Why don’t you go first and take a look at the empire I’ve conquered for you, hmm?"
Estelle was amused by his phrasing and waved a hand like a lucky cat. "I’m not a child. I won’t get lost."
"Good. The transfer of shares will have to wait until I arrive. I personally groomed the shareholders, so you can rest easy on that front. As for the rest of the staff, after you’ve managed things for a while, you can keep or replace whoever you want. It’s entirely up to you. This is yours now."
Estelle blinked. "Are you planning to remain the man behind the curtain forever, Mr. Sloan?"
Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.